RSVP Now For Roosevelt Row's Fifth Annual Chile Pepper Festival

The fifth annual Roosevelt Row Chile Pepper Festival will heat up downtown on Saturday, October 1, with a night full of food, drinks, live music, and more — all showcasing the city’s best chile pepper cuisine and local restaurants.

The event will be held from 5 to 10 p.m. throughout the Roosevelt Row Arts District, where chefs from more than 25 local restaurants will cook up a variety of chile pepper dishes, as well as provide cooking and chile-roasting demonstrations. This year, participating restaurants include Otro Café, Carly’s Bistro, Ocotillo, Urban Beans, The Vig, Focaccia Fiorentina, Blue Hound Kitchen, Phoenix Public Market Café, Volstead Public House, and others.

And don't worry, you won’t have to go far to find reprieve from all that spice: a craft beer garden will be provided by Dechutes Brewery, along with habanero-pineapple margaritas by Cazadores Tequila.

Other activities will include salsa-dancing lessons, live mariachi bands, and for those who want to show off their heat tolerance, the Lawn Gnome's Publishing Ghost Pepper Talent Show. The evening will finish with the naming of the Chile Pepper Challenge winner and announcement of the Chile Pepper Champion.

Admission to the festival is free, just be sure to RSVP through the festival’s Eventbrite website before October 1. Bundle packages that include drink tokens and tasting tickets are also available and range in price from $20 to $60. All bundle packages are on sale until September 28.